Screenshots: Deal with the Rot, Not the Tape

It's time I started a series called Terumbang-ambing perintah Putrajaya.

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Deal with the Rot, Not the Tape
M. Bakri Musa

If Chief Justice Ahmad Feiruz has any sense of personal honor and professional integrity left, he should resign immediately. If Prime Minister Abdullah has even the slightest responsibility for leadership and moral duty to the citizens, he should not extend the Chief Justice’s contract, due to expire this October. If the Malaysian Bar Council has any credible principle of societal obligation and self-policing ethics of a profession, it would disbar the lawyer making that phone call shown in the infamous video clip exposed by former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Alas, judging from past performances, expect none of these. That is the unfortunate reality of Malaysia today. What remains then would be for the King to withhold consent for extending Feiruz’s contract, thereby precipitating an unnecessary and distracting constitutional crisis the nation could ill bear.

The Bar Council had an Emergency Meeting, but instead of initiating the necessary disciplinary proceedings on the involved lawyer (which would definitely be within its power) it decided instead to march at Putrajaya and hand a petition to the Prime Minister demanding for a Royal Commission. Next those lawyers would be demonstrating on the streets. So Third World, a la Pakistan! I would have thought those smart lawyers would have concocted some novel legal theory on which to sue the government into action.

Meanwhile Abdullah Badawi was “disappointed,” not at the explosive contents of the video but the fact that it was released. Wake up, Mr. Prime Minister! The rot is the Malaysian judiciary, not the taping. If Abdullah does perk up from his slumber, he would probably order the arrest of Anwar Ibrahim!

Chief Justice Feiruz, taking a leaf from the Prime Minister’s notorious “elegant silence,” issued a terse, “No comment!” It was neither elegant nor silent; instead it was ugly and spoke volumes.

Motive for Taping

The quality of the recording is such that it is unlikely to be a fake. With today’s forensic capabilities, it would be foolish for anyone to even attempt this. The lawyer concerned was speaking on his cell phone, meaning, there will be the inerasable digital trail. My monthly cell phone bill details my outgoing and incoming calls. Because of the quality, the video could not be shot surreptitiously as with a cell phone a la the earlier “nude ear squat” episode. Besides, such a device was probably unavailable back in 2002.

The intriguing question then is why the taping was made in the first place. Dispensing with the most common and obvious reason – stupidity – I posit a few.

One is that basic human emotion: vanity. The bragging rights of accumulating the next million after you have already acquired a few declines very rapidly. You need some other trophies, like an embellished royal title or additional wives (for Muslims). If you already have those, or cannot acquire them, then the next intoxicating fantasy would be to a kingmaker, or fancying yourself as one.

For a lawyer to be able to brag that you could “handle” senior judges must be the ultimate high. If also considerably enhances your ability as rainmaker. Years later in your old age, your skeptical grandchildren might attribute your boasts to nothing more than the rambling of a senile mind, unless of course you have the video to prove it!

Closely related to vanity is arrogance. Humility is when you could manipulate the nation’s judiciary and have the quiet satisfaction; arrogance is when you flaunt it. This lawyer Lingam was certainly flaunting it!

Alternatively, I do not put it below this shyster to put on this monologue with an imagined targeted senior judge at the other end, a la Lat’s old cartoon, and then purposely “leaked” the tape out. It would certainly be a headline grabber. As for a motive, rogues are known to do this to each other when they have a falling out. There is one quick way to check this: examine the tape to determine when it was manufactured.

The last possibility is that this could be an insider’s job, perhaps an employee’s scheme to get even with his or her boss just in case he would get nasty in future. Knowing how law firms’ employees are treated in Malaysia, this is a real possibility.

Judicial Commission No Remedy to Judiciary Rot

After much delay and amidst speculations, Abdullah finally appointed, apparently at the Ruler’s insistence, Justice Hamid Mohamed as President of the Court of Appeal, and Justice Alauddin Sherif as Chief Justice of Malaya. The two are highly regarded for their integrity as well as for being apolitical and independent minded. No wonder they were not Abdullah’s initial choice!

Abdullah also appointed a private lawyer Zaki Tun Azmi directly to the Appeals Court. He was on UMNO’s “Money Politics” disciplinary board. Lately he was known more for dumping his young Thai bride (his second, third, fourth?) and then asking her to burn their wedding certificate that was issued in Southern Thailand. Such personal integrity! The surprise is that the Council of Rulers consented to the appointment.

Perhaps Zaki Azmi was Abdulalh’s ideal choice for a future Chief Justice. That would of course reflect on Abdullah.

The rot in the judiciary predates Abdullah. However, he had the opportunity to reverse the trend or at least stem the decline with these new appointments, but as with the massive electoral mandate he received in 2004, he squandered it.

Many are advocating for an independent Judicial Commission to deal with judges’ appointments and promotions. I disagree. Judges and the judiciary generally must be accountable to the public. While I would not have judges be elected, as in some jurisdictions in America, the current system with judges appointed by the Prime Minister and consented to by the Council of Rulers is a good substitute. There is no point wasting time and effort tinkering with the current system.

What is needed instead is for the Prime Minister to be wise in his appointments and to open the field as wide as possible. In America, federal judges are nominated by the President and then consented to by the Senate, after a public confirmation hearing. If the president were stupid enough to nominate someone equally stupid, the Senate would not hesitate to deny the confirmation, after the appropriate public humiliation of the hearings. Additionally, the Bar Associations, legal scholars, and editorial boards would never shy from voicing their opinions.

The Prime Minister cannot abdicate his responsibility in selecting judges. If Abdullah needs guidance (he obviously does!), I suggest that he reads Lee Kuan Yew’s memoirs. If he finds the volumes too thick and tedious, I can help Abdullah by referring him to the relevant few pages.

Elsewhere I commented on the intellectual and experiential insularity of Malaysian judges. They are almost exclusively drawn from the civil service, with minimal or no outside experience in academia, private sector, or elsewhere. They follow directives only too well.

I was stunned that Chief Justice Feiruz, when confronted with the evidence that he had promoted judges who had been delinquent with their written judgments, would write to the Prime Minister instead of handling the issue himself. Presumably Feiruz was awaiting arahan (directive) from the Prime Minister. So much for his appreciation and understanding of the concept of separation of powers!

That more than anything reflects the caliber of Feiruz. Don’t get me started on the quality of his legal writings and commentaries!

In the end it does not matter what system you have if those responsible for selecting our judges do not do the job responsibly. The rot in our judiciary is not with the system but with the personnel. The system has produced such judicial luminaries as Tun Suffian and Raja Azlan Shah. It could do it again.

Comments

BAR also very good in talkin only - like wat the
3 lawyers said during the wat say u programme in tv2 yesterday nite. For them,
lawyer no problems, only judges - talk cock lar

Posted by: fucai | September 24, 2007 08:35 AM

Folks

The last few years have shown to the people one lesson:

That this UMNO-led Govt is becoming NOT a Govt FOR the People.

It is behaving a Govt AGAINST the People.

Instead of responding POSITIVELY to the concerns of the rakyat of complaints of abuse of power and influence, this UMNO-led Govt is diverting attention to condemn, incarcerate and punish citizens who report such abuse of power and influence.

Please WAKE UP PRIME MINISTER, the landslide mandate the voters gave you and UMNO to lead this Govt is to fix the rot, in the public service, in the political institutions, and especially now, in the judiciary.

The nation comes first, not UMNO, not UMNO members, not UMNO cronies or UMNO families and relatives.

Your Ministers are out of touch of the 21st century Malaysia and still dabbles in the racial and communal politics of the 1960s and 70s.

It is time for UMNO NOT to abuse the word Bangsa and confuse the rakyat with Race and Nationality.

The Malays today are no more like the Malays of 1960s. They are more educated, more worldly in their views and have the nation first.

We call on the Council of Rulers to help stem this rot and to rein in UMNO's excessive racist politics that is dividing this country to a point of NO return.

Posted by: Frank&Honest | September 24, 2007 09:12 AM

Yes, the rot has sent in. PM should do a debridement exercise on the country – the removal of dead, devitalized and contaminated policies just as they have done the same to the former PM in IJN on his wounds. For far too long problems after problems have been swept under the carpet and hoping that a giant vacuum cleaner will suck them all away. The new judiciary crisis is downplayed to further police investigations which will come out with no result. But the external factors are hurting us most. The PM is worried & concerned only about his next mandate (the "rot" is perceived by others only) and has acknowledged in the latest interview aired over ASTRO 95 that the sluggish US economy will influence the investment climate –which in turn will have a direct impact on the stock market. He hinted strongly “Our mandate still has two more years to go”. So it looks like the GE can also wait, the GE might be delayed.
More details at
http://powerpresent.blogspot.com/2007/09/pm-hints-delay-in-ge-mandate-has-2-more.html

Posted by: mwt | September 24, 2007 10:03 AM

It will not surprise the international community if Malaysia were to legalise corruption. There is so much of it everywhere. Malaysians are just so good at it.

Posted by: birdseye | September 24, 2007 01:02 PM

"That this UMNO-led Govt is becoming NOT a Govt FOR the People.

It is behaving a Govt AGAINST the People."

AMEN, F&H. A very sad amen.

I was so, so gung-ho and upbeat when "Mr Clean" took over, and said things which I had been longing to hear after the long, dark Mahathir years.

Promises and pledges, including "work with me, not for me".

Bikin serupa cakap?

What has the BN shown over these last few years? What have their MPs said in Parliament? "You tak suka you boleh keluar" type of swaggering pronouncemnts and sexist cheap jokes.

What has the latest AG report shown about how the govt has used the rakyat's money? I bear in mind that some of the big shocks were Dr M era legacies, but what has the response of Pak Lah's govt been?

And now the Lingam tape? "No need for Royal Commission".

Tak boleh terima lah, PM.

Cancer requires drastic, painful and often radical measures if the patient is to have a good chance of getting better. Sticking a bandage over it only hastens the demise, and likely a more painful slide downhill too towards that end.

More than 10,000 signed the Petition Rakyat. There is a very clear message in tomorrow's March in Putrajaya.

As Prime Minister of Malaysia, Pak Lah has the duty and responsibility to lead the government in the best possible manner for the nation and her people.

I hope the PM heeds the message being sent to him.

Posted by: Leithaisor | September 24, 2007 01:03 PM

Jeff,

Aiyaaa... we all know the ending to this drama-lah.

1. ACA will vindicate all the actors due to "insufficient evidence".

2. The person who did the video taping will be prosecuted for spreading rumours.

3. PM will say all those mentioned are innocent since they are not found guilty by ACA and no one confessed!.

4. Anwar Ibrahim and BAR will be reprimanded for spreading lies.

5. BN and judiciary back to status quo so that they can scratch each other's back again. (Ooooh.... it's so nice!)

So predictable!
Tai chor lah...

Posted by: JacknJill | September 24, 2007 01:17 PM

just wondering do you need a permit from the police to hold a public assembly to march order to Putrajaya on this Wednesday? We do not want another Batu Buruk incident again.

Posted by: sonicwall | September 24, 2007 01:58 PM

America, federal judges are nominated by the President and then consented to by the Senate, after a public confirmation hearing
------------------------

yes, in usa, federal judges appointment depends on 2 factors - president & senate ... but in usa, senate doesn't necessarily have to agree with president, what more with public comfirmation hearing ...

in malaysia, the executive pillar has crossed into legislative and judiciary pillars and created havoc out of it ... furthermore the senate (dewan negara is merely a rubber stamp) ...

but the most stupid of all are the voters who blindly voted the same govn year-in-year-out ... well, i've no prob with that but i DO have prob with voters that gave the govn 90% majority ...

guess what, if the govn plans to change the constitution so that your wealth should deducted by 80% into the country's coffer, they can just change the constitution anytime they like ... how many voters realize that?

cheers ...

Posted by: StockTube | September 24, 2007 02:59 PM

The work with me, not for me pledged by badawi has long extinguish, especially after hishamuddin's keris episode.
If badawi can tolerate malay extremist within the ranks of his cabinet who threatened bloodshed, what more a corrupted judiciary/police force/prosecutors/civil servants etc.

Posted by: sydput | September 24, 2007 04:44 PM

AAB has screwed up til now..if he doesn't know how to handle the Lingam tape issue correctly, and take the correct action, rather than try to shoot the messenger..he is dead duck in the next election

Posted by: art chan | September 24, 2007 07:09 PM

INTERNET does not operate in a legal vacuum.
Read this before you post a comment in this blog!

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